In this special episode, Ievgen Malik sits down with Shaun Pinner — British soldier, Ukrainian Marine, Mariupol defender, and fellow survivor of Russian captivity. The two served in the same battalion of the 36th Marines but in different units, fought through the siege of Mariupol from February to April 2022, and both ended up in Russian captivity — where they got to know each other. This is not a standard interview. It's two veterans who shared the worst experience of their lives sitting together for the first time since their release, comparing stories, filling in blanks, and discovering what the other went through. Shaun talks about leaving a successful business in London at 45 to join the Ukrainian military, falling in love with Mariupol, training Ukrainian soldiers to move away from Soviet doctrine, and watching the full-scale invasion destroy the city he called home. Ievgen tells his side — the fog that could have been their escape, the breakout that went wrong, and why the second year of captivity was worse than Mariupol itself. Together, they describe the Russian way of war from the receiving end: Grad rockets fired at two soldiers, tanks shooting on the hour like a clock, 80 rockets for a two-man position. They talk about what captivity was really like — the electric shocks, the stabbings, the guards who called themselves Spetsnaz but couldn't name their own weapons, and the forced propaganda videos where the torturer stood behind the camera. And they explain why Shaun now considers it his mission to warn Europe about what's coming. Built & launched with StoryFunnels Produced by the Borderlands Foundation. Subscribe here Listen other episodes & support: https://ukrainemilitaryhistory.org/ Timestampts: 0:00 - Ievgen and Shaun's Story — Mariupol and Captivity 4:57 - A True Ally of Ukraine 6:48 - Why Shaun Came to Ukraine: Unhappy in Business, Happiest in the Military 9:40 - Shaun Joins Azov as Sniper Instructor, Then Transfers to Marines 12:14 - Ievgen's First Memory of the English Guys at the Battalion Gate 14:25 - Parachute Training at 45: "You Couldn't Stop Me" 17:00 - Nine Jumps, One Night Jump — the Only British Foreigner to Complete It 19:13 - "I'm Not a Foreign Fighter — I'm a Ukrainian Marine" 21:30 - The Transition from Soviet Doctrine to Decentralized Command 24:03 - By 2022: Sergeants Making Decisions 26:27 - "We Were Now Ukrainian": British Borscht and the Platoon Family 28:00 - War Has Changed: Drones Are the Sniper, the Mortars, the Artillery 30:01 - The Drone Story: Two Marines, One Drone, 80 Grad Rockets 32:46 - "The First Time in My Military Career, I'm Now the Taliban" 35:01 - Mariupol: "Very Emotional, Very Dangerous — We Lost So Many People" 37:56 - "In War Films, a Tank Is the Worst. For Us, a Tank Was the Minimum" 40:01 - The Encirclement: 200 Kilometers Deep, No Way Out 41:58 - Preparing for Escape: Snapping Credit Cards, Clearing Intelligence 44:14 - Shaun's Capture: Planned to Surrender to a Russian Officer — Got DPR Instead 47:00 - Ievgen's Negotiated Surrender 48:44 - Beatings Begin: Bag Over Head, Stabbed in the Leg 51:05 - Electric Shocks and Psychological Torture: "They're So Good at It" 53:23 - "You're James Bond, You're SAS" — "No, I'm Senior Sailor" 56:08 - The Last Question: What Would Happen If Russia Invaded Britain? 59:34 - "It's My Job to Tell People What Actually Happened in Mariupol" 1:01:32 - "This War Needs to Be Finished Here — It's Imperialism"
